Parables about love are beautiful and wise. Parable in self-knowledge lessons Parables in self-knowledge lessons

Twenty-four Avadutta Gurus

Maharaja Yadu, the founder of the Yadava dynasty into which Sri Krishna Bhagavan was born, once met Avadutta Swami. Wise, intelligent and a dharma scholar that he was, Yadu noticed the man and his behavior. Noticing that Swami was a knower of Truth, King Yadu bowed before him and spoke to him politely.
- Sir, when I see you, I feel great surprise and amazement. Although we have knowledge of the sastras, we make great efforts to please our senses. But it seems that you are not making any such efforts...

Blacksmith

In one small village there was only one blacksmith in the entire area, whose daily earnings were only enough to buy food for one day for his family. One day a doctor and a cook came to him with a request to forge them knives for work: for the cook - a kitchen knife, and for the doctor - a scalpel. The blacksmith happily set to work.

At this time, a passerby walked past the forge and looked at the blacksmith and his work. Coming closer, he said hello and asked what this metal would be made of.
“Knives,” answered the blacksmith.
- Knives? - asked the passerby. - Aren’t you afraid that someone...

What books teach

When a blind boy came to school, the children asked the teacher in surprise:
- How will he learn if he is blind?
- A man is blind without a book. And our new student can read with his hands. “He has special books in which the letters are embossed with dots,” the teacher explained.

At first the children teased the blind man, but the boy was not offended by the jokes. The blind man had an excellent memory, and he remembered everything the first time. The children soon got used to the blind boy and asked him for help...

Narrow collar

It so happened that one person became very ill. His illness was that he always felt that his eyes were ready to pop out, and his ears were constantly ringing. Gradually it drove him crazy because it continued every day.

And he turned to the doctors. One doctor recommended removing his appendix, and he had his appendix removed, but nothing changed. Another advised to rip out...

Looking for the best

Once upon a time there lived a selfish and arrogant man. However, he learned early on that he could hide his harmful tendencies and even indulge them by calling them something else. He assumed the appearance of a man who preached and practiced perfection, and very easily the state of self-deception became his mentality.

He picked on others, believing that he was trying to improve human behavior...

Arrow and fog

Master, a student once asked, why are there difficulties that prevent us from achieving our goal, deviate us from the chosen path, and try to force us to admit our weakness?

“What you call difficulties,” answered the Teacher, “is actually...

The old man and the horse

Once upon a time there lived an old man in a village. He was very poor, but even the kings were jealous of him because he had a beautiful white horse. They offered him fabulous money for the horse, but the old man said: “This horse for me is not a horse, but a personality. How can you sell a personality, a friend?”

The man was poor, but never agreed to sell his horse. One morning he did not find the horse in the stall. The whole village gathered and everyone condemned the old man:
“You are a stupid old man,” they told him. “We knew...

S.I. Ozhegov: “Good is everything positive, good, what is useful to people and society, contributes to its preservation; something that prevents hostility."

How did you understand the words of the parable? - “The wolf always wins

(slide number 17)

Which of the following actions are good deeds and which are evil deeds? Explain your opinion.

1. Play football on the lawns;

6. Take the ball from your friends;

8. Give up your seat on the bus.

Game “Stomp - Clap” If the action depicted in the picture is good, we clap, if the action shown in the picture is bad, we stomp.

11.

If he does evil, he will become _________.

If he brings goodness, he will become ________.

Human

Good

of good

kind

12. Reflection (slide No. 36)

So continue to say kind words to each other and do good deeds. After all, droplets of goodness, merging, turn into a stream, streams into a river, rivers into a sea of ​​love. It's good when a person leaves.

Homework:

14. THANK YOU ALL!!!

View document contents
“Implementation of the tasks of moral and spiritual education in the lessons of “Self-knowledge” through a parable, as the main methodological method of teaching. »

Implementation of the tasks of moral and spiritual education

in the lessons of “Self-knowledge” through a parable, as the main

methodical method of teaching.

Speech at the August Teachers' Conference

“The role and place of the subject of Self-knowledge in the educational process of educational organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan”

Zhakupova M.I., teacher - psychologist, secondary school No. 3

“If you look into the future a year in advance, plant rice; if you look into the future ten years, plant trees. If you are planning for life, educate a person.”

Folk wisdom.

In all centuries, people highly valued moral education. The profound socio-economic transformations taking place in modern society make us think about the future of the Republic of Kazakhstan, about its youth.

Currently, moral guidelines have been crushed; the younger generation can be accused of lack of spirituality, lack of faith, and aggressiveness. Therefore, the problem of moral and spiritual education is very relevant.

Preschool organizations and secondary schools are faced with the task of preparing a responsible citizen who is capable of independently assessing what is happening and building his activities in accordance with the interests of the people around him.

The formation of morality occurs at school in all classes, in all routine moments, in play and work activities. But the main work on this issue takes place in classes on the subject “Self-Knowledge”. In these classes, there is a revival of a person’s spirituality, an emphasis on the child’s personality, and positive views, thinking, and beliefs on a particular problem are developed.

In order to consolidate in the student’s mind certain spiritual values ​​that he learned about in the “Self-Knowledge” classes, to help him experience a certain emotional state, to help explain what it means, it is necessary to emphasize the interdisciplinary connection between the “Self-Knowledge” lessons and classes on the development of the language environment. A methodological technique such as “Reading” helps very well here, which is aimed at expanding the student’s knowledge and ideas about the values ​​and moral qualities of a person through awareness of the actions of literary heroes, their relationships, and reflections on themselves. Short stories, fairy tales, parables, poems presented in this section are a unique attitude of the characters to the events depicted with a projection on the life experience of the child.

One of these techniques is reading parables, which contain some specific moral truth, some specific lesson, a small or large law of the World in which we live.

"MORAL LESSONS OF A PARABLE"

Target: identifying the moral lessons of the parables

Lesson objectives:

Introduction to the concept of parable.

Learn about the features of the parable

Get acquainted with the text of the parable

Learn to understand the meaning of the parable

Develop coherent speech, ability to work in a group; enrich vocabulary;

Expand knowledge about the moral concepts of good and evil;

To cultivate kindness in children, a conscious attitude to the choice of actions.

During the classes:

(slide No. 4-5)

1. Introduction

Parables are not just texts, not just stories.

Each parable can give us something, teach us something. It contains some specific moral truth, some specific lesson, a small or large law of the World in which we live.

Through parables one can gain access to knowledge of the laws of the three-dimensional world. Moreover, this access is facilitated, because parables are the art of words getting straight into the heart. This is a kind of educational material that will certainly help an attentive and thoughtful student travel around the World consciously and joyfully.

2. Definition of a parable (slide No. 6 -7)

A PARABLE is a small instructive story containing moral or religious teaching (wisdom).

A PARABLE is a short story in verse or prose in an allegorical, edifying form.

A PARABLE is a short story, the plot of which is revealed as an allegory with a moralizing purpose.

PARABLE - “teaching by example” (V.I. Dal).

Parable - small _______(1) , containing ___________ (2) in

___________________ (3) form.

1 - story

2 – teachings

3 – allegorical

3. Features of the parable (slide No. 8)

Features of the parable:

In a parable, as a rule, there are no characters. The characters are usually nameless and sketchy;

the time, often and place of action are not specific;

the parable does not depict, but reports;

there is no direct teaching in parables;

the parable draws its poetic material from human life;

Everyone must give the answer to the question themselves;

the message itself contains a moral that the reader must learn;

there is no display of events in development;

4. Reading (display) “The Parable of the Two Wolves” (slide No. 9-12)

5. Discussion (slide No. 10)

What did the white and black wolf represent in the parable?

6. Vocabulary work (slide No. 14-15)

We have 2 groups: now, with the help of tokens, we will define the concept that you will work on. (tokens: black and white stripes)

They work with Ozhegov’s dictionaries: the first group is looking for what good is, the second group is looking for what evil is.

Let's look into the book of wisdom - into the explanatory dictionary of S.I. Ozhegova.

S.I. Ozhegov: “Good is everything positive, good, what is useful to people and society, contributes to its preservation; something that prevents hostility."

S.I. Ozhegov: “Evil is something bad, harmful, misfortune, misfortune, nuisance, annoyance, anger. It disfigures personality and relationships between people, encourages them to do bad things, and incites hostility.”

Brainstorming “What is the meaning of the parable” (slide No. 16)

How did you understand the words of the parable? - “The wolf always wins whom are you feeding? (Discussion, expressing your opinion, reasoning)

Expanding knowledge about the moral concepts of good and evil

(slide number 17)

Which of the following actions are good deeds and which are evil? Explain your opinion.

Play football on the lawns;

2. Draw on the walls at school;

3. Plant plants near the school;

4. Accurately spit chewing gum at a friend;

5. Play with your little sister while mom goes to the store;

6. Take the ball from your friends;

7. Help an elderly person cross the street;

8. Give up your seat on the bus.

Game “Stomp, clap” (slide No. 18-25)

Game "Stomp - Clap" If the action depicted in the picture the good one - clap, the bad one - evil - stomp.

11. The main idea of ​​the parable (slide No. 26-28)

The presence of evil and good in a person depends on his actions.

It all depends on __________________ .

What he ______________ to become is what he will become.

If he does evil, he will become _________.

If he brings goodness, he will become ________.

Human

Consolidation. Exercise. (slide No. 29-35)

So, guys, today we are talking about the fact that parables contain a teaching, a moral, a lesson using the example of the parable of the two wolves.

Try to formulate the moral lessons of the parables by filling in the missing words in a sentence.

They are taught to see in themselves a movement towards _________ and ________ and to distinguish between them.

Fosters a desire to make choices in favor of ______.

Follow the ________ inclinations of the heart and conscience.

Good

of good

kind

12. Reflection (slide No. 36)

Now hold hands and say kind words to each other. Share kindness.

So continue to say kind words to each other and do good deeds. After all, droplets of goodness, merging, turn into a stream, streams into a river, rivers into a sea of ​​love. It's good when a person leaves.

13.Homework (slide No. 37)

Homework:

Prepare a mini-project “Parable of Good and Evil”, determine what moral lesson the parable contains.

14. THANK YOU ALL!!!

Idrisova Irina Salemuzhanovna
teacher of self-knowledge of KSU “Secondary School No. 17” of the education department of the city of Ekibastuz

The issue of moral and spiritual education of students is one of the key issues in modern society. Education is something other than physical nutrition and spiritual nutrition (food of the soul). Education of the soul (i.e. moral and spiritual education) is a continuous process, it begins with the birth of a person and continues throughout life.

In the process of my activities in the classroom, I use various techniques and methods.

I consider the use of parables in self-knowledge lessons to be one of these methods of “feeding a child’s soul”, harmonious development and revelation of the child’s inner world, and following universal human values ​​in everyday life.

Why did I choose this material? In class, I noticed that children often read a text without delving deeply into it, without understanding the content, and sometimes they lose their thoughts. The parable teaches them to try to comprehend what they read. Therefore, the teacher is faced with a choice: either you give them dry information, or you try to educate them by discussing something using real-life examples. For myself, I decided: it would be better for the students to receive less accurate information, but I will try to call them to a frank conversation, to touch the emotional strings, which, perhaps, will resonate with them someday. And for this, the parable turned out to be the most suitable material.

The value of the parable is that it provokes students to dialogue, makes them think, talk, and not be afraid to express different opinions. As a result of discussing the parable in class, we come to some kind of common opinion (rather than the teacher telling the children a ready-made “correct” solution).

What is a parable? Parable is an amazing genre. The word parable is a translation in the Slavic language of “pritka” - an incident, an incident - an allegory, a figurative story, often used to present doctrinal truths, from the Greek word “paraballo”, which means “to place in a row”. Thus, a parable is something that is put on a par with something for comparison. A parable uses an ordinary event in everyday life to emphasize or clarify an important truth. They reflect a person’s life, convey moral ideals and show patterns of behavior.

Activator exercise “Let’s play association”

Name the first associations, images that come to your mind, and thus continue the sentences you started:

1. If a parable is a geometric figure, then it is...

2. If a parable is a color, then this is...

3. If a parable is the title of a film, then this is...

4. If a parable is a mood, then this is...

5. If a parable is music, then this is...

6. If a parable is an animal, then it is...

Goals and objectives of working with the parable:

1. use of speech means to solve various communicative and cognitive tasks;

2.the ability to carry out information search to complete educational tasks;

3. mastering the skills of semantic reading of texts of various styles and genres, conscious construction of speech statements in accordance with the tasks of communication;

4.willingness to listen to the interlocutor and conduct a dialogue, the opportunity to express one’s point of view;

5. development of creative activity, thinking, imagination, memory, etc.

The uniqueness of the parable is that it has many properties

Properties of a parable: brevity; does not require evidence; suggests ways to resolve a conflict situation; does not contain direct instruction or morality (the listener must deduce it himself); is based on comparison, similarity, opposition of phenomena and facts; involves mental activity; carries with it a certain instructive lesson.; helps to comprehend an important moral truth; a way to pass on the wisdom of the older generation.

Proverbs serve the following functions:

1. Mirror function. The child applies what is said in the parable to himself, compares the hero’s state with his own thoughts and experiences. 2. Model function. The parable serves as a mediator between people, allowing you to look at their relationships from the outside, indirectly at the conflict situation itself. We can gently, in a gentle manner, help the child find a way out of it.
3. Function of mediation. Between two people (student - teacher, adult - young), with the existing internal confrontation, a mediator appears in the form of a story. Thanks to the situational model of a story, it is possible to say in a gentle manner to another person what could be aggressively perceived with a direct instruction.

4. Function of storing experience. A parable is an amazing storehouse of experience that is passed down from generation to generation in a generalized and entertaining form, bewitching and attracting the attention of the listener:

If we talk about the parable from the point of view of methodology, then the question arises: where, in fact, is it appropriate? The parable is appropriate for motivation at the beginning of the lesson to help children quickly get involved in it. I started the lesson on the topic “Human Happiness” with a parable about happiness: God blinded a man from clay, and he was left with an unused piece. “What else should you blind?” - God asked. “Being blind is not happiness,” the man asked. God did not answer anything, and only placed the remaining piece of clay in the man’s palm. (questions What is happiness? What is the meaning of the parable?...)

Parables can be used as a way to open up a topic of conversation, as a pretext for discussion together. The images of parables can also be examples to follow. For example, when we talked about goodness, I told the following parable. "The Young Man and the Stars" The old man was walking along the seashore and saw a young man who was picking up starfish on the shore and throwing them into the waves. The old man asked why he was doing this. The young man replied that the stars would die without water. The old man objected that there were too many stars, so what was the use of his efforts? The young man looked at the star he was holding in his hands and said: “At least for her alone there is some use. Let her live a little longer”... Next, I asked the children questions about how to evaluate the young man’s action and what kindness is.

Parables can be used to discuss a particular topic or for reflection at the end of the lesson. For example, when studying the topic in 9th grade “Dream and Reality” in order to reveal the importance of knowing yourself when choosing a path, your true destiny, I propose the parable “About a Brook”

(Questions: What does it mean to “find your calling?”)

Children like the parable about dandelions. I got acquainted with this parable on the street while the dandelions were blooming. When the kids entered the classroom they were drawing flowers. For the next lesson, the children brought poems, drawings and even recipes about dandelions as homework. We really loved them!

At the end of the school year (this has become a tradition for me), I show 11th grade students the parable “Full Jar” on the topic “Human Values.” The children actively participate, helping to name all the values, identifying the most important ones for life.

The themes of parables can be varied: wisdom, longevity, righteousness, knowledge, love of one's neighbor, fear of the life-giving forces of nature, diligence, self-control, wise use of wealth, compassion for the poor, family foundations and raising children, mercy, choosing friends, hard work, honesty , intransigence to evil, justice, helping those in need, fun, common sense, etc.

Varieties of tasks when working with a parable in the lesson:

· discussion of the main idea and meaning of the parable; formulation of questions;

· title of the parable;

· a parable without ending (discussion of how it could end);

· highlighting key words – concepts, followed by commenting;

· dramatization of a parable;

· selection of proverbs and sayings based on the idea of ​​the parable;

· comparison with a fable, video (define);

· insert the missing words into the text of the parable;

· a parable from a role position (representative of a certain historical era, culture, profession, social role, etc.).

· comparison of several parables (parables from different cultures) with the same values;

· identification of the values ​​that the parable reflects.

· compiling crosswords and puzzles based on the idea of ​​the parable;

· illustration of a parable.

*open questions – implying your own detailed answer;

*closed questions – a one-word answer or a choice from the proposed answers;

*situational questions – to clarify the current situation;

* problematic issues – reveal specific difficulties and contradictions;

*directed questions – allow you to extract specific information;

*guiding questions – questions containing suggestions;

*clarifying questions.

The combination of different methods, forms and activities increases student motivation and makes lessons more productive.

Methods of working with a parable

The discussion method is the creation of an understandable problem situation related to real life. The method allows schoolchildren to subsequently make independent choices in real life situations.

The research method is an organization of learning in which students are put in the position of a researcher, independently put forward a hypothesis, confirm or refute it based on known data, draw conclusions and generalizations, comprehend and discover knowledge, and do not receive it in a ready-made form. The children work with historical materials, fill out tables, write a mini-essay (essay) on the proposed topic.

For example, after retelling the parable about “Family Values,” students are invited to create a family tree together with their parents, talk about their ancestors, and explore the traditions and customs of their family tree. The result is extraordinary: the children brought a lot of work, and they told how their parents actively participated, calling relatives in Kazakhstan, Russia and even Germany. ….

Composing a parable (or an essay, a reasoning essay, a poem) Written creative work allows you to fairly objectively reveal the degree of mastery of the material, the level of development of cognitive skills, and also allows students to formulate their own position on the problem being studied and express the point of view that the student, on those or for other reasons, did not dare to speak publicly in class or as part of group work.

Dramatization (theatricalization) can be included in the lesson as an illustrative fragment or presentation of homework. The main formula of the method: “Exciting, making you think.” Students act out the parable. The mechanism of action itself is capable of activating certain emotions, ideas, and thoughts in the child. (At school there is a 7th grade, which we call difficult, the children do not like to work with a textbook, but they love to dramatize, this is their strong point! I invite them not only to act out, but also to discuss, draw a conclusion, analyze the actions of the characters. Talents are revealed, artistry is revealed such children, from whom I did not expect. They themselves became a discovery for me..)

Work on the parable “Bucket of Apples” in 3rd grade on the topic “Generosity and generosity” (task after reading: 1st group - drawing for the parable, 2nd group - apples with characteristics of a generous and generous person, 3rd group came up with a continuation to the parable (where the negative hero realized his behavior, asked a neighbor for seedlings, planted a garden, distributed the fruits to everyone and became kind and generous).

The “Rhombus of Associations” technique is the actualization of subjective experience when analyzing the text of a parable. A rhombus is drawn in the middle of the sheet (board). The theme of the parable is written at the top (what?), on the left - phrases, words, phrases from the text; on the right - feelings, images, associations that arose when reading these words and passed through the prism of the topic. Below is a conclusion in the form of an aphorism, morality, cinquain, haiku, tanku, etc.

Children, primary school students, enjoy putting together puzzles from a cut-up picture and coming up with a short parable (aphorism, philosophical story) for it.

The “Tree of Predictions” technique is used to work with the text of the parable. Helps to make assumptions about the development of the plot of the parable. The trunk of the tree is a theme, the branches are assumptions with the words “possibly”, “probably”; leaves - justifications for these judgments, assumptions, in other words, arguments.

The teacher must remember that in the lessons of self-knowledge, it is necessary to purposefully create conditions for the formation of the moral and spiritual sphere of the individual, since direct influence does not always have the result that he strives for.

Parables are seeds. Once in the heart of a child, they will certainly germinate and sprout in the future, their hearts will be filled with wisdom, and their minds with understanding.

Bibliography

1. The beginnings of wisdom. A. Lopatina, M. Skrebtsova – Moscow; Amrita-Rus, 2005.

2. Ozhegov S.I. Dictionary of the Russian language: Approximately 57,000 words / Ed. doc. Philol. sciences, prof. N.Yu. Shvedova. – 16th ed., rev. – M: Russian language, 1984. – pp. 310, 315, 737.

3. Tumina L.E. You can’t survive the century without a parable (techniques for working with a parable in speech development lessons)// Magazine “Russian Language at School”, No. 6, 1997. – pp. 9 – 15.

4. Encyclopedic Dictionary of a Young Literary Scholar/Compiled. IN AND. Novikov. – M.: Pedagogy, 1988. – p. 232 – 234.

5. Old Russian parable. - M.: Soviet Russia, 1991.

6. Tumina L.E. You can’t survive the century without a parable (techniques for working with a parable in speech development lessons)// Magazine “Russian Language at School”, N6, 1997. – pp. 9 – 15.

7. 100 great geniuses / R.K. Balandin. – M.: Veche, 2005. – pp. 191 – 192

Fragments of technological maps

Parable "About the Stones"

One person bought vegetables at the market. Arriving home, he discovered that the merchants had put a pile of stones in his cart instead of goods. But he did not go back and did not lament, but continued to live as before.
And now, after forty long years, there was a knock on his house. When the man opened the door, decrepit old men stood on the threshold.
“Hello,” they said, “we deceived you then, and we came to ask for forgiveness.”
The man replied: “I remember this incident.” But you don’t owe me anything: I threw the stones into the pit that same day. And you carried them in your heart for forty years.

Come up with a new name for the parable.

What is its moral lesson? What value are we talking about?

How do you explain the meaning of the concept of “conscience”?

Make a cluster or syncwine with the word “CONSCIENCE”

Which of these sayings about conscience reflects the meaning of the parable:

A) Conscience is a thousand witnesses.

B) He who has a clear conscience goes to bed peacefully.

C) He who has a clear conscience does not have a pillow under his head.

D) A clear conscience does not drown.

D) A person with a bad conscience is afraid of everything.

E) With his conscience it is good to live, but bad to die.

Game "Find a pair"

Act contrary to your beliefs
Live according to your conscience
Live honestly, fairly
Do it conscientiously
Do something well, conscientiously
Act against your conscience
Live in peace without feeling remorse
Act without a twinge of conscience
Act without shame, without embarrassment
The action is on his conscience
When a person did not do what he was obliged to do, cheated, deceived someone
Live with a clear conscience

Parable “He who is rich in what, shares it!”

Somehow a good man bought himself a new house - large, solid and beautiful, and even with a large fruit-bearing apple orchard. Nearby, in an old house, there lived an envious neighbor who constantly tried to ruin his mood: either he would throw garbage under the gate, or he would do some other nasty things.
One day a man woke up in a good mood, went out onto the porch, and there was a bucket of slop standing there.

– What do you think the good man did?
Continue reading:

He took a bucket, poured out the slop, cleaned the bucket until it shined, collected the largest, ripest and most delicious apples into it and went to his neighbor.
The neighbor was delighted when he heard a knock on the door and thought maliciously: “Well, I finally got him!” He opens the door in the hope of a scandal, and the man hands him a bucket of apples and says:
- He who is rich in what, shares it!

theatricalization, discussion of the parable:

Title the text.

Parable "Two Wolves"

The teacher gives the children a printout of the parable, the children take turns reading its paragraphs, then the student or the teacher himself reads the parable again.

(The title of the parable is deliberately not given.)

Once upon a time, an old man revealed one vital truth to his grandson:

There is a struggle in every person, very similar to the struggle of two wolves. One wolf represents evil: envy, jealousy, regret, selfishness, ambition, lies. The other wolf represents goodness: peace, love, hope, truth, kindness and loyalty.

The grandson, touched to the depths of his soul by his grandfather’s words, thought for a moment, and then asked:

Which wolf wins in the end? The old man smiled and answered:

The wolf you feed always wins.

Working with a parable.

– Did you like this story?

– How did you understand what she was talking about?

– Who are the main characters of the parable?

What does the old man compare the inner world of a person to?

– What does each wolf represent?

– How do you understand the Old Man’s answer to the Grandson’s question?

What is the moral lesson of the parable?

– What title can you come up with for this story?

3) Psychotherapeutic exercise for the parable “Straw Hat”.

A presenter is selected. He puts on the straw hat of truth. The others take turns asking him any questions. The driver must answer only the truth. Children take turns putting on the truth hat and each is asked 5 questions.

Exercise Analysis:

– Did you like the exercise?

– Was it difficult to answer the questions? What about asking?

– Why is it so difficult for a person to tell the truth?

In the parable, the time is not precisely defined, the territory is not named. The instructive conclusion here is not immediately visible. Only upon reflection do we understand that in the parable “Two Wolves” the inner world of a person is compared to the struggle of two wolves (worlds). White and black wolves represent opposing concepts of good and evil. And a person always needs to independently make a choice between good and evil. We can say that the parable is small in volume. There are many words in the parable that are understandable to a person at any age.

Thus, we see how these parables combine generalization and assessment of the phenomena of human life with brevity of language and unusual narration.

Parable about happiness

One day three brothers saw Happiness sitting in a hole.

One of the brothers approached the pit and asked Happiness for money. Happiness gave him money, and he left happy.

Another brother asked for a beautiful woman. He immediately received it and ran away with her, beside himself with happiness.

The third brother leaned over the pit:

What do you need? – asked Happiness

What do you need? - asked the brother.

“Get me out of here,” Happiness asked. (continue the parable)

The brother extended his hand, pulled Happiness out of the hole, turned and walked away. And Happiness followed him.

1. Continue the parable.

2. What is happiness?

3. How do you understand R. Igersoll’s saying “The way to be happy is to make others happy”? Do you agree with him?

4. Remember the proverbs and sayings about happiness.

5. Create a formula for happiness:

HAPPINESS =

Parable of the Proud Cedar

A cedar grew in one garden. Every year he matured and became taller and more handsome. Its lush crown towered royally above the other trees and cast a thick shadow on them. But the more he grew and stretched upward, the more exorbitant arrogance grew in him.

Looking down on everyone with contempt, he once shouted imperiously:
- Take away this pathetic hazel! - And the tree was cut down at the root.
- Free me from the proximity of the obnoxious fig tree! “She bothers me with her stupid appearance,” the capricious cedar ordered another time, and the fig tree suffered the same fate.

Satisfied with himself, proudly swaying his branches, the arrogant handsome man did not let up:
- Clear the area around me of old pears and apple trees! - and the trees were used for firewood.
So the restless cedar ordered to destroy all the trees one by one, becoming the sovereign master in the garden, from whose former beauty only stumps remained.

But one day a strong hurricane struck. The arrogant cedar resisted him with all its might, holding tightly to the ground with its powerful roots. And the wind, not meeting any other trees on its way, freely pounced on the lonely standing handsome man, mercilessly breaking, crushing and bending him down. Finally, the tormented cedar could not withstand the furious blows, cracked and fell to the ground.

Leonardo da Vinci

What value is being discussed in the parable?

What is the moral lesson of the parable?

Reception "Rhombus of Associations"
Parable "Two Friends"

Once, two friends walked in the desert for many days. One day they argued, and one of them rashly slapped the other.
His friend felt the pain, but said nothing.
Silently, he wrote in the sand: “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”
The friends continued walking in silence, and after many days they found an oasis in which they decided to swim.
The one who received the slap almost drowned and his friend saved him.
When he came to his senses, he carved on the stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”
The one who slapped and who saved the life of his friend asked him:
“When I offended you, you wrote in the sand, and now you write on the stone.” Why?
And the friend replied:
“When someone offends us, we must write it in the sand so that the winds can erase it.” But when someone does something good, we must carve it in stone so that no wind can erase it.
Learn to write grievances in the sand and carve joys in stone.
Leave some time for life! And may it be easy and bright for you...

1.Work with the title of the parable before reading.

Read the name of the parable. What do you think the text will be about?

Why are friends needed?

2. Primary reading of the parable by the teacher. (Children listen to the parable.)

Were our assumptions justified, the text about friends?

What proverbs can you remember after reading this parable?

1. Make a cluster or syncwine with the word “FRIENDSHIP”

FRIENDSHIP
2. Remember the proverbs about friendship.

3. Draw a friendship emblem.
Parable “Take the Basket”

My father grew old and weakened. Life barely glimmers in him. The son got tired of caring for his elderly father, and he decided to get rid of him.

He put his father in a basket and carried him high into the mountains. He let the basket fall to the ground and was just about to leave when his father called out to him:

“Son, I’m not offended that you brought me here, but take the basket!”

- What do I need it for?

– Your son will need it when he wants to bring you here...

Analysis of the parable

What is this parable about?

What did your son forget? (The responsibility to “honor father and mother” does not end when father and mother grow old)

What important moral law does the parable remind us of?

What is the responsibility of parents and children to each other?

What does the parable teach?

Assignment for the group: Choose a proverb that conveys the meaning of the parable more accurately than others.

Assignment for the group: Remember and discuss whether you have ever read similar works, or whether there was an event in your life that fits the meaning of the parable (choose only one story and tell it to other groups).

For thoughts:

“Honor your father and your mother (One of the commandments)

“If you want to know how your children will treat you in your old age, look at how you treat your parents.” Persian proverb

“What you give to your parents today, you will receive from your children tomorrow.” Chinese proverb

“Whoever does not take care of his parents in his youth condemns himself to suffering in old age.” Persian proverb

“Supporting your father and mother is the greatest blessing.” Buddhism

"The measure of the valor of children is in their relation to their parents." Armenian proverb

“Fathers and children should not wait for requests from each other, but proactively give what each other needs.” Diogenes

Parable "Three Builders"

Finding and inserting missing words in a parable.

…………. walked, and to meet him three people were driving carts with stones for the construction of the temple under the ……….sun. ……….stopped and asked everyone a question.

The first one asked:

What have you been doing all day?

And he with ……….. replied that all day long there were ………… damned stones.

The second one asked:

What did you do all day?

And he answered:

– I………….did my job.

And the third……….., his face lit up with joy and pleasure, and he answered:

– And I…………in the construction of the temple.

Assignment: insert the missing words and phrases into the content of the parable.

What values ​​does the parable reflect? What does she teach us?

Parable "About the Snake"

Once upon a time there lived a snake whose head and tail were constantly arguing with each other. The head says to the tail: “I should be considered the eldest. I have eyes to see, a mouth to eat, and when I move I am ahead of the rest of my body. But you don’t have such virtues.”

In response, the tail wrapped itself around the tree three times. The head was unable to move in search of food and almost died of starvation. She said to the tail: “Let me go, and I will recognize you as the eldest.” The tail, hearing these words, immediately unhooked itself from the tree.

The head again says to the tail: “Since you are recognized as the eldest, let’s see how you go first.” The tail went forward, but did not take even a few steps when it fell into a fiery pit, and the snake died in the fire.

Analysis of the parable

– Identify the heroes participating in this parable; list. How many heroes?

– What were the Tail and the Head arguing about?

– Who do you think is right: the tail or the head?! Give reasons for your point of view.

– What can be said about the qualities and values ​​of the Tail and Head?

– What in history might seem strange to you? (The tail took a few steps, but the Snake cannot walk; the Snake is silent.)

– What advice would you give to the Snake if you find yourself nearby?

– What is the meaning of the parable? (Live in harmony.)

– Can similar situations happen in life?

– Name the fables that can be attributed to this parable.

– Name the proverbs and sayings that fit the parable.

– How would you illustrate this parable on a piece of paper?

Parable "The Greedy Lion"? (Analytical reading)

The hero of the parable will be the king of beasts - Leo. Everyone knows that a lion is a terrible predator. It can sneak up very close to its prey, and then rushes after it, catches up and makes a jump. Lives in Africa.

Listening to the parable, determine which quality of the lion is manifested very clearly

One day the Lion went out hunting, saw a hare, chased him, growled:

- Hey, scythe, you can’t get away from me, I’ll eat you.

Just as the Lion wanted to grab the hare, a mountain goat ran out to meet him. Leo sees that the goat has more meat, he left the hare and chased the goat. The Lion had just caught up with the goat, when suddenly a gazelle ran out to meet him. The lion left the goat and chased the gazelle. A deep-water river blocked their way. The gazelle jumped over the river and ran further, but the Lion stopped - he couldn’t jump over it.

Leo bowed his head, saw his reflection in the water and thought... -Greed

– This parable is called “The Greedy Lion.” Why did Leo keep changing prey?

– What does a greedy person strive for?! (Strives for profit, wants to get more than he needs.)

– Greed becomes an unbridled desire, an unbridled passion for our hero. People called a greedy person “stingy” or “stingy.”

– What do you think Leo thought when he saw his reflection in the water? (Children's statements.)

... And he thought that there was some kind of large animal in front of him. And Lev decided: why chase a gazelle when great prey awaits him here. He accelerated and splashed into the water, only bubbles began to appear.

– What other quality of Leo is manifested in this story? (Stupidity)

– What does the parable teach?

For thoughts:

“Greed is the desire to have more than is necessary.” Augustine

“Greed is an unbridled passion for acquisition, a thirst for gain.” P. Bracciolini

Working on the parable “Bear”

Guess who will be the hero in this parable (work in groups):

“Assemble the picture” (puzzles): students assemble puzzles and guess the hero of the parable.

They read a passage of text and also guess the hero.

The largest and probably the most famous predator. Loves to feast on wild berries and tasty plant roots. But he won’t refuse delicious acorns and mushrooms. Swims magnificently, not being afraid to cross large rivers several kilometers wide.

So, the hero of our parable will be a bear.

– What do bears like most? (Honey.)

- Right. Bears have a big sweet tooth. Clubfoot sweet-eaters often destroy the nests of wild bees. The bees do not like this at all, and they try to bite the uninvited guests. But the bears don’t give up, because honey is so delicious.

– What can scare a bear? (Listen to options.)

Who is the bear afraid of?

They once said to a bear:

- The whole village is coming for you!

- But I’m not afraid! - answers the clubfoot.

-Who are you afraid of?!

“But if they say that my brothers are coming at me, then I have something to be afraid of.”

-What is the bear afraid of? What could scare him? (Betrayal of loved ones.)

– What is the meaning of the parable?

Parable "The Dog and the Wolf"

The hero of Russian folk tales is often the Gray Wolf. Guess which fairy tales these illustrations are from (the teacher shows illustrations or slides from the fairy tales “The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats”, “The Cat and the Fox”, “The Fox and the Wolf”).

– You and I know that the Gray Wolf is deceiving and cunning; he is strong, but uses force to commit wrongdoing; evil, will not spare the defenseless; in some situations the Russian people show him as stupid.

Dog and wolf

One day a peasant went into the forest to get firewood. His dog also followed him. Together they entered the forest. Suddenly a wolf appeared. He attacked the dog and dragged it into the forest to eat it, but the dog said to him with tears in its eyes:

- What have I done to you that you want to eat me? If you eat me now, you will still be hungry again tomorrow. Let's go to our home, they give me bread and other food every day, we'll live together.

The wolf sees that the dog means business and agrees. They walked and walked, and when they approached the village, the wolf noticed that the dog’s neck was bald, covered in festering wounds.

“It’s good, very good, brother, that you live so well, but why is your neck so wounded?”

“You know what, brother, my master has a bad character: before he puts bread in front of me, he puts a chain around my neck, and then says: “Eat.”

“No, brother, I’ll go back, and you go and live with a full stomach and a chain around your neck.”

Analysis of the parable

– What does the Wolf value most? (Values ​​freedom.)

Freedom is one of the most important moral values. Freedom can be compared to the air of mountain peaks. Having freedom, a person has a choice. But for weak people freedom is intolerable! Why?

– What is the meaning of the parable?

Try to explain why people did the same work but got different answers.

– What values ​​does the parable reflect? What does she teach us?

(keyword

Heroes - characters

Event-action (situation)

Event-action (situation)

Untitled (Task: Come up with a title for the parable)

“Once upon a time, there lived a rich man in the mountains. He had a huge flock of sheep and as many friends.

One day trouble came to his house. One night, thieves entered his sheepfold and stole all the sheep. When the owner came to the sheepfold in the morning to drive his flock out to pasture, not a single sheep was there. The owner of the sheepfold sighed heavily and began to cry. All his many years of work were in vain, and his family became poor overnight.

Soon the whole district learned about the misfortune that had befallen the owner of the sheepfold. Another day passed and at dawn the owner saw a cloud of dust on the road. It kept getting bigger and bigger. Soon he could see people in the cloud of dust. These were his friends. Each of his friends did not walk empty-handed, but led a small flock of sheep. When they all entered his yard, he realized that his friends had come to help him. Since then, his herd has become several times larger than before. Every morning when he went to drive out his herd, he remembered the eyes of his friends who saved the life of his family.”

What proverb was discussed in the parable? (Don’t have a hundred rubles, but have a hundred friends).

Tasks for students:

· dramatization, illustration,

· ask your questions to the text, offer your own versions of questions and answers based on the text of the parable.

come up with a title for the parable

Parable (make up a name)

Once upon a time an old man, a wanderer, came to one village. He began to walk around the courtyards and beg for alms. He knocked on one house and the compassionate housewife brought the wanderer warm clothes, utensils, and food. She gave everything, no matter what he asked. He knocked on another house, and there the greedy housewife gave him only a holey handkerchief and quickly slammed the door in his face.

As soon as the old wanderer left, a terrible fire broke out in that house. Every single house burned down, and people were left with nothing. Then the wanderer returned to the village and returned to everyone everything that was given to him.

He gave all her goods to the first mistress, but the greedy one got only a handkerchief with holes like a sieve.

Be kind, and goodness will return to you.

Tasks for students:

illustrate,

ask your questions about the text,

offer your own versions of questions and answers based on the text of the parable,

come up with a name for the parable.

When a pickpocket meets Buddha, all he sees is his pockets... In Lahore, the city of jewelers, there lived a professional pickpocket. One day he saw that some man had bought a beautiful diamond that he had been waiting for for many years, a diamond that he just...

LESSONS OF WISDOM. PARABLES

Hello, dear friends! In this section you will find difficult and very unusual parables. I wrote down some of them for my Teachers, and took some of them after reading them somewhere. Their task is not to teach; their task is to awaken. Not in the printed words, not even in the stories themselves, but in the spiritual subtext, the mood, in the special atmosphere lies the inexpressible Wisdom. Reading story after story, you will involuntarily come into contact with the Silent Teaching hidden between the lines, awaken and transform. The Wisdom and Power of these parables is to change without effort, to be transformed - by awakening to life, to a reality that lies beyond words and all understanding.

Read stories in small doses - no more than one or two a day. Exceeding the dose reduces the effectiveness of perception.

***

One day, after thinking, I asked my Teacher: “Master, tell me, why are there now so many fanatics among various teachings and spiritual directions?”

The teacher opened his old battered Volkhov notebook, stroked his thick beautiful beard, silently looked into the distance for a while, as if into the depths of centuries, then took a deep breath and exhaled and said, quoting himself:

"...When the Great-Wise One looks at a curved pine tree, he sees its Natural Perfection...thereby getting used to Correct Perception...

When the Unlucky One looks at a crooked pine tree, he sees only its flaws and IMPERFECTIONS...thus getting used to Wrong Perception...

When the Great-Wise sees the Key, he realizes the nature and capabilities of the Lock... Perceiving and Seeing the Path that is hidden behind the door...

When the Unguided One looks at the key, he does not realize the nature and capabilities of not only the lock, but also the Key itself, and keeps trying to find instructions for using this (in his opinion) absurd and unnecessary object... without seeing and not perceiving not only the Path, but also the Door itself...

Sometimes a door can be opened with only one key... But, in most cases, it is simply not closed...", having written down the last phrase for the Master, I plunged into deep thoughts about what I heard over a cup of strong fireweed tea...

***

One day they brought Stupidity to the Master and asked:
- What can it be reshaped into?
He replied:
- I propose to sew Wisdom out of it.
Those who came were surprised:
- Is there enough material?
- There will still be some left! - assured the Master.

Once upon a time there was a broad outlook.
But my mother said: “Stop having your head in the clouds!”, and at school they demanded that you learn everything “the only way and by heart.”
And the horizon narrowed and narrowed until it became a point.
Since then it has been called a point of view.

There will be no end of the world, or Is there life after childbirth?

Two babies are talking in the belly of a pregnant woman. One of them is a believer, the other is an unbeliever. An unbelieving baby once asked his brother:
- Do you believe in life after childbirth?
- Yes, sure. Everyone understands that life after childbirth exists. We are here to become strong enough and ready for what awaits us next.
- It is nonsense! There can be no life after childbirth! Can you imagine what such a life might look like? - objected the unbeliever.
The believer responds:
“I don’t know all the details, but I believe that there will be more light there and that we may be able to walk and eat with our mouths.”
- What nonsense! - exclaimed the unbeliever. - It’s impossible to walk and eat with your mouth! This is absolutely funny! We have an umbilical cord that nourishes us. You know, I want to tell you: it is impossible for there to be life after childbirth, because our life - the umbilical cord - is already too short.
- And I'm sure it's possible. Everything will just be a little different. One can imagine this.
The unbeliever objected again:
- But no one has ever returned from there! Life simply ends with childbirth. And in general, life is one big suffering in the dark.
- No no! I don't know exactly what our life will look like after giving birth, but in any case, we will see mom and she will take care of us.
- Mom? Do you believe in mom? And where is it located?
- She is everywhere around us, we abide in her and thanks to her we move and live, without her we simply cannot exist.
- Complete nonsense! “I have not seen any mother, and therefore it is obvious that she simply does not exist,” exclaimed the unbelieving baby.

I can't agree with you. After all, sometimes, when everything around is quiet, you can hear her sing and feel how she caresses our world. I firmly believe that our real life will begin only after childbirth.

***

Bag of potatoes

One day a student asked the teacher:

You are so wise. You are always in a good mood, never angry. Help me to be like that too.

The teacher agreed and asked the student to bring potatoes and a transparent bag.

If you get angry at someone and harbor a grudge,” the teacher said, “then take these potatoes.” On one side, write your name, on the other, the name of the person with whom the conflict occurred, and put these potatoes in a bag.

And it's all ? - the student asked in bewilderment.

No, the teacher answered. - You should always carry this bag with you. And every time you are offended by someone, add potatoes to it.

The student agreed. Some time passed. The student's bag was replenished with several more potatoes and became quite heavy. It was very inconvenient to always carry it with you. In addition, the potatoes that he put in at the very beginning began to spoil. It became covered with a slippery nasty coating, some sprouted, some bloomed and began to emit a sharp, unpleasant odor.

The student came to the teacher and said:

It is no longer possible to carry this with you. Firstly, the bag is too heavy, and secondly, the potatoes have spoiled. Suggest something different.

But the teacher replied: “The same thing happens in your soul.” When you are angry or offended at someone, a heavy stone appears in your soul. You just don't notice it right away. Actions turn into habits, habits into character, which gives rise to fetid vices. And it is very easy to forget about this burden, because it is too heavy to carry with you all the time. I gave you the opportunity to observe this whole process from the outside. Every time you decide to be offended or, conversely, offend someone, think about whether you need this burden. We ourselves create our vices. Is it necessary to carry a bag of spoiled potatoes on your back?

1. Angels

One seeker read many esoteric books, from which he learned that spiritually enlightened people can communicate with angels. He wanted to achieve such a state of mind and began to look for a suitable guru who would teach him this.

Over a short period of time, he met several people who called themselves Teachers and claimed to be able to communicate with angels. Angels give them advice and guidance, warnings and revelations. At the same time, the gurus did not give the impression of being successful people; they had neither family nor income. They had fragile health and great arrogance. Many of them spoke for a long time and very wisely about simple things, without saying anything, and they were also very good at thoughtful silence and lengthy discussions: what is spiritual and non-spiritual.

After communicating with them, the seeker understood only one thing: in order to establish contact with the angels, one must pray a lot and fast for a long time. He began to practice this for many months and years, fulfilling all the commandments and leading an ascetic lifestyle. He abandoned many earthly joys and, for the sake of his goal, spent most of the day in meditation. He opened his “third eye” and “blowed through” his chakras, and prayed a lot. He lost friends, family and work. Time passed, but the angels still did not appear to him. And he couldn’t understand: why? And this continued until he met the True Sage.

After listening to him, the True Sage himself turned to him with a question: “What is the fundamental difference between people and angels? If you find the answer to this question, you will understand why some people, passionately wanting to establish a connection with angels, do not feel a reciprocal desire from them? If you can’t find the answer yourself, come and we’ll find it together.”

After some thought, the seeker again came to the Real Sage and said: “All that I have learned about angels, that the difference between us and them is that they are incorporeal, they consist of the Spiritual Body of Light, but I know nothing more about them " After listening to him, the True Sage replied: “You are right, they do not have a physical body and therefore they are immortal and do not know physical illness. Angels do not have an astral or mental body, and therefore human confusion of mind and torment of the soul are alien to them. But now I will tell you the main thing: man has Free Will, angels do not have it, they are called upon to carry out only God’s Will, they do not know what “choice” and decision-making are.

And from here it follows, as you yourself understand, that no matter what spiritual practices a person performs, no matter how much he strives for spiritual growth and perfection, no angel will visit him unless it is God’s Will. And remember, angels can appear to mere mortals for no apparent reason and not to those who passionately desire contact with them.”

"How did you know that?" - asked the searching man.

“The angels told me about this,” answered the True Sage.

2. What is the difference between smart and wise

One day, three people met in the same place and at the same time. The place was secluded: the warm sea lazily licked the coastal rocks, which basked in the rays of the setting sun. The silence of the sunset, the light breeze of the wind and the quiet whisper of the waves - everything was conducive to a philosophical way of thinking. These people sometimes attended esoteric parties that took place in Places of Power, where they met each other. And since, apart from esotericism, there were no other common topics for conversation, they indulged in reflection and discussion of the secret essence of some spiritual teachings, movements and directions.

One of them gave the impression of an intelligent person, talked a lot about laws, causes and consequences, the second supported him, the third simply remained silent and drew symbols and signs that were incomprehensible to the other two on the coastal sand. When he heard from his companions that the essence of esoteric teachings lies in the comprehension of secret wisdom, he interrupted his occupation and asked them: “What is the difference between a wise person and an intelligent person?” After an hour of fruitless intellectual effort, no clear answer was received. Then the silent man approached the rock and painted a mystical sign on it with a green stone. At the same moment, a shadow separated from the rock, which quickly began to take on the outline of the Sage from the Land of Stone Clouds.

The sage, as it turned out, was well acquainted with the essence of their dispute and, raising his eyes the color of brocade jasper to the searching people, said: “An intelligent person builds his well-being in this world, relying on his mind, education, experience, explores obvious causes and consequences , is guided by laws, regulations and rules. A wise person sees the subtle, unmanifested causes of all things and builds his well-being based on them. According to any laws of the material world, you could not extract me from the rock. But it was enough for a wise man to draw a mystical key to my appearance on the rock, and I appeared before you.” And then the Sage again returned to the stone, which turned into a cloud and flew away to the Land of Stone Clouds, where it rains stones and turns into beach pebbles.

3. Dedication

One spiritually seeking person was looking for a long time for a Master who would agree to conduct an initiation ceremony with him. True, he himself did not know what he wanted to be initiated into, but he really wanted to achieve Enlightenment.

And one day he met the Great Master, who, after listening to him, said:

There are three levels in esotericism that you must comprehend and realize, and only then can you achieve enlightenment and be Initiated.”

What are these levels? - the seeker asked with genuine curiosity.

The first level is physical reality. This is when you look at trees - you see trees, when you look at people - you see people, when you assimilate information - you simply assimilate it.

At the second level, you already see the essence of things: trees cease to be trees, people cease to be people and become spiritual beings, information turns into knowledge.

Well, what about the third level?

The third level is Enlightenment,” said the Great Master and looked at his interlocutor with sympathy. - At this level, trees become trees again, people again become people, with their weaknesses and vices, and knowledge turns into skill.

So initiate me into all this,” the seeking man prayed.

I will tell you the Great Secret. Remember: it is not someone who initiates you, but you who devote yourself to something; and when that to which you have dedicated yourself reveals its secrets to you, then only then do you become an Initiate.

4. Storage and accumulation of energy

One person learned from esoteric books and publications that the most important thing is to have powerful energy, a strong biofield and a healthy aura. He devoted a lot of time and effort to achieving this. He met with many specialists in this field, studied ancient and modern techniques.

He completely devoted his time to spiritual pursuits: prayers, concentration, contemplation, meditation, introspection, breathing exercises, opening chakras and energy channels, and as a result he achieved good results.

He was very proud that he had such a powerful aura, and began to believe that he had comprehended all the most important, important and secret ways of accumulating and preserving vital energy. He was so proud of this that he challenged all other seekers, and once at one of the esoteric meetings he said: “If someone knows more than me, and who surpasses me, I will consider him a Great Master, and I will consider myself pathetic and worthless." He said this in full confidence that it was impossible to surpass him, that he had comprehended everything that could be comprehended. And as soon as he said this, a most ordinary-looking man appeared in front of him. And this man said: “Okay, let’s do this: for three days you will perform all your techniques and practices to increase your energy, which you have mastered so well and which are so difficult for an ordinary person to perform. But during this time you will not do just one thing that all ordinary people do to replenish their vitality, and let's see what happens to you. Agree?"

Ha! Of course I agree.

But you don’t know what you won’t do?

But I know what I will do,” the Master answered proudly.

“Okay,” said the simple man, “you won’t sleep for three days and three nights.” Get started.

Three days and three nights passed, and a sleep-deprived, exhausted and exhausted man appeared before the respectable public, despite the fact that for three days he indulged in prayers, concentration, contemplation, meditation, introspection, breathing exercises, opening chakras and energy channels.

Seeing this, people realized that Divine Automatisms for replenishing vitality include a full sleep, and all spiritual practices are only an addition to the main thing.

5. Energy and information

In one large city, one Enlightened guru recruited students to teach them energy-informational interaction.

Things were going well for him, the people of this city had a great interest in esoteric knowledge, and the guru earned decent money. And this continued until one of the students asked him: how does energy differ from information and is there any difference between them at all?

The Guru was unable to give an intelligible answer to this question, after which he ceased to be the Guru in this big city. And he had to move to another city - a smaller one, where he again became a guru, then move to an even smaller city, and then to a very small one. Soon he had nowhere to go, since he could not find students anywhere else, and not because there were none, but because he had ceased to be a guru.

And the student from the big city who asked him his question finally found the answer. He realized that energy and information are not the same thing, but they are not different either, just like the Sun and light, waves and the Ocean. After that, he became the Great Master, and he did not recruit students, they came to him on their own. And when, many years later, a very inquisitive person asked him a question: how does energy differ from information, the Master asked him:

Do you think these are not the same thing?

Yes, I think so.

Why? - the Master asked him.

And because, the man said, energy and information exist together, but are subject to different laws.

That’s right,” said the Master, and again asked the question: “And what laws?”

Energy is indestructible, it can pass from one type to another. But another form of the same energy may not be available for use, giving the impression that the energy is finite. And if one unit of energy has been used by one person, then another person cannot use the same unit of energy again.

“Okay,” said the Master, “you want to say that if one person burns one log and is warmed by its energy, then another person will no longer be able to use the energy of this log, and if someone ate a piece of bread, then another will no longer be able to use the energy , which this piece of bread contained. Right?

“Yes,” the man answered.

What can you say about the information?

The fact that, unlike energy, the same unit of information can be used by different people countless times. This does not make the information less, it is not exhausted, and it does not get worse.

Thus,” the Great Master clarified, “you want to say that if a book is read by one person or a hundred, there will be no less information in it?”

Exactly.

What else can you add to what you said?

And the fact that information, unlike energy, can be combined with other information and generate a third, previously non-existent one.

So, it can reproduce? - the Master clarified.

It turns out that’s true,” the man answered, “but I can’t say anything more about it.”

Well, then I’ll tell you one more thing, the main difference between information and energy. Information can be encoded, and when it is decoded, it turns into knowledge, information, messages. Information is everywhere and about everything, you just need to be able to decipher it.

You want to say that learned men decode the information of the Manifested World and transform it into physical laws and academic knowledge, and spiritual Teachers

and Enlightened masters decode information from the Unmanifested World and transform it into spiritual teachings and esoteric knowledge?

6. Herbalist

Among the mountain meadows on the banks of a clear stream, the Great Herbalist lived in a wooden house. He tirelessly collected medicinal products, from which he made decoctions, medicinal powders and teas. Many people came to him and he helped everyone. The fame of his art of making medicinal compositions from plants reached the most remote corners of the country in which he lived.

The herbalist was already many years old, and he began to think that it was time to find a worthy student to pass on his art to him and teach him the herbal power of healing.

And one day two young men came to him and asked the Great Herbalist to take them as students, explaining their request with a passionate desire to know all the mysteries of herbs. The great herbalist agreed to teach them, and the young men settled in his house. They helped the Great Herbalist in everything, and carefully tried to comprehend everything he taught them. This went on for seven years, and the disciples no longer became young men, but men. And the Great Herbalist decided that the time had come to test them in order to reveal to them the main secret. And one day early in the morning he told them: “You already know and can do a lot, and now I ask you: go to the fields, forests, mountains, deserts and reservoirs, and find me a herb that is absolutely useless for humans.” . I give you one year and one day to do this. Go."

For one year and one day, the Great Herbalist continued to help people heal, and his students tried to complete his task with reverent zeal. And on the appointed day they arrived to their Teacher, but one of them came empty-handed. The Great One didn’t tell them anythingherbalist. And the next day he sent them again for one year and one day with the task of bringing the most useful herbs for humans.

A year and one day later they met again, and the student who had previously come empty-handed brought a very small bunch of herbs, and the other student brought a huge stack on a cart. Seeing all this, the Great Herbalist smiled and asked the first student:

Why didn’t you bring any herbs the first time, but now you brought so few of them?

Because, Teacher, there are no herbs that are useless for humans, you just need to know which ones can be useful and in what cases.

“I agree with you,” said the Great Herbalist.

And now I brought so few of them because it’s not about quantity, but about their quality. This bundle that I brought contains a composition of herbs, a decoction of which causes vigor in the body and rejoicing in the body. Among the southern Slavs, substances that heal are called “liki,” and medicine is a derivative of “rejoicing.” But in Ukraine, in general, when they heal, they say that they “rejoice.” That’s why I collected herbs of similar effect, those that cause rejoicing, and, consequently, healing.”

After listening to him, the Great Herbalist said:

You have comprehended the great and main secret of herbs, and teach meThere is nothing more to you, you are already a Herbalist.

7. Two ways

Once upon a time, two people met who had been studying esotericism for a long time and with passion. Each of them read many smart books, attended various seminars, trainings and courses on spiritual improvement. Both of them had their mentors, whose ideas and approaches were close and understandable to them.

And when these two people began to discuss among themselves some provisions that had already been quite well developed in esotericism, they, to their mutual surprise, ceased to understand each other. They argued until they were hoarse, each trying to prove his own truth, insisting that only he was right, and all other opinions and judgments were wrong and even harmful. In the end, they almost came to blows, accusing each other of elementary stupidity, ignorance and lack of spirituality. But both of them were persistent in their desire to comprehend and prove the truth, and they decided to find a True Sage who would fairly resolve their dispute.

And they went to the Land of Stone Clouds, where the True Sage lived.

After listening to them, the Sage said that each of them was right in their own way, they just had a different vision of the same issues.

How is this so? - they were surprised. - Where is the truth?
To which the Sage replied:

In esotericism, in order to comprehend the truth, there are two paths; they are not strictly parallel to each other and can intersect at some points.

What are these paths?

One path is the Path of Prayer and the other is the Path of Awareness.

What's the difference?

And the fact is that the Path of Prayer gives birth to Spiritual Teachers, and the Path of Awareness - Enlightened Masters. The Spiritual Teacher forms followers, the Enlightened Master - researchers. One gives experienced states, the other gives the power of knowledge. One has a frozen dogma, the other has a living teaching. That's the whole difference. And one of you follows one path, led by his mentor, and the other follows another, led by his own, that’s why you don’t understand each other.

And on which Path can one become enlightened?

Not at any place, but only at their intersection. But for this we need something more.

What exactly?

“But you need to have something,” said the Sage, “that falls into the water and does not leave ripples on it.” Something that sweeps across the field and doesn’t stir a blade of grass. Something that has no weight, but the absence of which is very difficult.

So what is this?

Light.

Light?

Yes, - said the Sage, - the inner Light of Knowledge and Faith.

8. About damage and the evil eye

Once a novice esotericist came to the Master and began to complain that there were so many bad people around, that there was only envy, slander, deception and, worst of all, people were “staring” at him and leading him on, but he himself was so good and pure and light, suffers greatly from this.

The master listened to him and said: “Come tomorrow, and during this day, take a sheet of paper and a pen, divide the sheet into two halves and on one half write the best qualities that, in your understanding, people can have, and on the other write the most their worst qualities."

Having completed the task, the novice esotericist again came to the Master the next day. The master took a quick look at the scribbled sheet of paper and asked:

Did you do it yourself or did someone help you?

“Myself,” answered the novice esotericist.

Very good. If you wrote this yourself, then there is nothing on this piece of paper except yourself, and all the bad qualities that you attributed to people belong to you, and not to someone else. But the good qualities that you wrote here also belong to you.

How is it that when I described bad qualities, I remembered some people from my environment, and when I described good qualities, I remembered others.

Remember the main esoteric law: “Similaris drawn to that kind of thing.” In accordance with this lawbut you resonate at the bioenergetic level preciselywith these people, and not with others, that’s why they are presentut in your surroundings. Your environment is a continuation
yourself, beyond the boundaries of your physical body.

Now tell me, is it possible to jinx a saint?

After much thought, the novice esotericist answered:

I don't think so.

Explain why.

Well, if “like attracts like,” then the saint does not resonate in any way with the vibrations of envy, slander, deception, money-grubbing, and his biofield is not affected by these energies. After all, he is a saint - pure and bright.

Are you a saint? - the Master asked him.

No,” answered the novice esotericist.

Then what do you expect from ordinary - not holy people? - said the Master, and grinning, went to clean his biofield of harmful energy-informational overlays.

You and I are just people, and people have nothing human alien. Just like you cleanse your physical every day body, it is also useful to at least sometimes cleanse your subtle body.

9. Feminine nature

One day, a student suffering from chronic love came to the Master. He often fell in love with various girls and women, he suffered a lot and dreamed a lot. From the surge of feelings, he fell into euphoria, then into deep sadness. He wanted to comprehend and control their feelings, but with each new hobby he only moved further away from his intended goal.

And turning to the Master, being on the verge of disappointment, he said:

I have known many, and have come to the conclusion that female nature fits into four arithmetic operations: subtract, add, multiply and divide.

Explain,” the Master turned to him.

A woman takes up time, adds problems, multiplies expenses and divides property.

“You’re right,” said the Master, “if you mishandle a woman and your feelings.” In addition to what you have listed, a woman can also share a bed with you and take away sorrows, multiply joys and increase offspring, add strength and confidence.

It all depends on you, in which direction she turns on her calculator.

This is exactly what I want to achieve. Tell me how to managefeminine nature?

To which the Master replied: “There are two ways to control a woman, but they are not known to anyone.- And smiling, he went to his woman, with whom he shared a bed, who took away his sorrows, multiplied his joys, and added strength.

10. Contactor

Once a man visited a fortune-teller-seer, who, without really saying anything about the problems that interested him, began to talk a lot about his supposedly unusual abilities.

This man was interested in completely different issues related to his daily life. But the fortune teller-seer spoke so heartfeltly that he believed that he could really heal, read people’s thoughts, and that he could become a great psychic.

After that, he tried himself in various esoteric directions, studied at various seminars and courses, but he failed to achieve any serious results in anything. Over all these years, he had become so accustomed to the idea that he was a real psychic that he could no longer give it up. And then one day this man began to hear voices and realized that he had become a contactee, and this was his true calling.

He mastered automatic writing: he accepted some texts that no one, even himself, understood, drew mysterious signs, drew mediocre pictures and spoke a lot about the mysteries of the Subtle World and the laws of spiritual growth. He preached obvious esoteric nonsense with conviction, with burning eyes, and was very angry because people did not understand him and did not recognize him as the Great Contactee. His vigorous activity began to irritate normal esotericists and even displease the Enlightened Master.

And one evening, a man who considered himself a Great Contactee came to the Enlightened Master and said:

I preach great truths, but people do not understand me, and some even laugh at me. And today at noon I made contact, and God told me: “Go to the Enlightened Master, he will tell you how to make people recognize you and what you preach.”

To which the Master replied:

But God didn’t tell me anything about you,” and, turning his back to the guest, he added, turning to his disciples:- When a person talks to God, this is normal, but when God is with a person, it is alarming.

11. All professions are needed, all professions are important

The young man lived and lived: he went to college, read books, went to the sea on vacation, went to the theater on weekends, and sometimes attended esoteric parties. And one day he thought about the meaning of life, about his purpose on earth, about the correctness of his choice regarding the profession that he received at the university. This question interested him especially strongly, and he decided to approach its solution seriously. To do this, he decided to make a list of all professions in order to, plunging into the deep, determine which one his soul resonates with.

He spent several days compiling a list of all the professions that exist. But even this seemed to him not enough, he made a list of everything that various earthly creatures were doing - they all turned out to be at work. He even established what elementary creatures (brownies, water creatures, etc.) do, and also found out what angels do - they carry out God’s Will. And in his research he went so far that he began to reflect on the profession of God. The young man thought a lot about this, looked at various reference books, re-read the Holy Scriptures, talked with priests, but he did not find a clear answer.

And then he turned to the Enlightened Master with his question:

What is God's profession?

After the Act of Creation took place, in Love and Forgiveness, the Master answered.

What about the punishment?

It would be more correct to say, a test that is overcome by Faith.

12. Evolution

One day the disciples asked the Master:

What spiritual heritage did ancient civilizations leave us?

“No,” answered the Master, “only dead stones remained from them.”

What about the secret knowledge that the ancients possessed?

They did not possess anything that is not known to people now.

But they developed along the spiritual path.

That's why they disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Do you want to say that the technological path of development of civilization is preferable to the spiritual one?

Why did you decide that there was spirituality there and then? There and then there was slavery, wars and violence. And people were reduced to the level of cattle, they were sacrificed and fed to sacred animals. Only a few possessed grains of knowledge. What kind of spirituality are you talking about?

What then is our technogenic world heading towards?

How can it be? - asked the students.

The evolution of technology is such that its material carrier disappears, but its functions remain.

Explain.

For example, you go into a supermarket, and as soon as you put your foot on the threshold, the glass doors immediately open, and when you go inside, they close. A modern door has neither a lock nor a handle, but it has their functions. A modern bottle opens itself; there is no opener, but it does have a function. There are no wires in mobile communications; their functions are performed by space, and all modern technology is evolving in this direction.

So you want to say that the ideal technique is one that does not exist, but its functions exist?

Exactly. This equally applies to the Greatest Ideal Spiritual Principle - God, who seems to be nowhere, but His functions are there, He is simultaneously Everywhere and Nowhere, Everywhere and Forever.

And after a pause the Master said:

When people comprehend the laws of gravity and the secrets of vacuum energy, our civilization will come to the Ideal State: cars will disappear, space itself will move a person where he needs to go. All thermal, nuclear and hydroelectric power plants will disappear, the entire oil and gas production and processing complex will disappear, energy will be provided by a physical vacuum. People will draw knowledge directly from the information field. In addition, money will disappear, since ideal money is power, and ideal power is Spiritual.

And our civilization will come to the Ideal World, when all people gain wisdom and come closer to God.

13. Guess

One day at the end of spring, a young woman - an esoteric seeker - came to the Master to clarify some questions. Her visit was unexpected, and the Master was in a hurry, but, being in a good mood, he invited her to immediately get to the core of the problem that was bothering her.

A young woman - an esoteric seeker - turned to him and said:

I don't know if my spiritual mentor is right? He constantly convinces me that if I devote so much time to spirituality and esotericism, then I will not be able to understand the essence of physical love.

Your mentor is right,” answered the Master, “because in fact, orgasm does not occur in the genitals, but in the brain.” And in order to comprehend the essence of physical love, one must engage in love, not spirituality.

After the Master’s words, the young woman - an esoteric seeker - became thoughtful, and after a while her face lit up with a smile. The woman had a guess, and she again turned to the Master:

What if I combine physical love and spirituality?

Then you will achieve enlightenment,” answered the Master. And he went to his chambers, where his beloved was waiting for him.

14. Skill

Once the owner of a nightclub approached the Master with a question:

What should you do to be healthy and live long? The master replied:

Sometimes this requires not doing something, but not doing something at all.

What do you mean? Like this? And what not to do?

For example, - answered the Master, - do not drink alcohol, do not smoke tobacco, avoid stress and sleep well at night.

“Everyone knows that,” the nightclub owner answered with a great deal of irony.

To know and to be able to do so is not the same thing,” said the Master.
A year later, the nightclub owner refurbished hisestablishment in a health center. And he loved to tell his many visitors about his meeting with the Master, while sipping fresh tomato juice.

To his surprise, he discovered that business can be done not only by exploiting people’s vices.

15. Spiritual tithe

Usually the Master spent the morning hours in prayer and meditation, and towards noon he rested, after which he communicated with his students and with everyone who sought a meeting with him. And such a seeker that day turned out to be a “mediocre” businessman whose business was not going very well. The businessman read esoteric literature and knew that success in life depended not only on his efforts in the material world, but also on the favor of the Subtle World towards him. He attended spiritual seminars, donated money, gave alms, but this did not make things any better for him. He sacrificed even more and gave more often. But nothing changed.

“Why is this so, and am I doing everything right?” - this question haunted him for a long time, and he decided to turn to the Master.

The master listened to him carefully and asked:

When you give and give, what are you thinking about in those moments?

I think that the Subtle World will honor me with these godly deeds and show me its protection. After all, everyone is well aware of spiritual tithing, and I try to give a tenth of my income to the church and the poor.

Spiritual tithe, said the Master, has nothing to do with money and material values. The material remains in the material, but the Subtle World canaccept only the ideal - our thoughts and feelings. And when you give and sacrifice, you think about your well-being, and not about God, and at the same time you do not experience the reverent awe of your soul from contact with the Unearthly. Is not it?

I can’t object to you, but what about spiritual tithing then?

Tell me, what is the most valuable thing for you in this life?

The businessman began to turn over in his head and voice various versions of the answer to this question. The master listened, but did not accept his answers. When the businessman had exhausted all options, the Master said:

The most valuable and irreplaceable thing is time; every minute lived is a precious Divine gift. The time of your life is your main value.

So should I sacrifice my time? - asked the businessman.

If you devote a tenth of your day to sincere prayers and reflections on the Divine, you will give your tithe in full to the Subtle World.

But I don’t have the opportunity to devote two and a half hours to prayer, meditation and reflection.

To do this, you need no more time than you spend smoking one cigarette. Only six minutes per hour,” answered the Master.

16. Invisible thread

Once a man came to the Teacher who was completely confused in his relationship with the woman he loved. The problem was that this relationship had already lasted for three years and was painful for both. But as soon as one of them decided to stop them, the mutual attraction of the lovers to each other intensified with incredible force, and everything started all over again. They no longer had the mental strength to either continue this connection or break it off.

The teacher listened to him carefully and said:

I will tell you one parable that the Enlightened Master, Anthony de Melo, once told me. Its essence is that Sinners are closer to God than the righteous. The master explained this by saying that there is an invisible thread between God and man, and by pulling these threads, God controls people. When a person makes a mistake, this thread breaks, then God takes the ends of this thread and ties them with a knot, which makes the thread a little shorter, and the person becomes closer to God.

So you want to say that it’s not scary to sin? And what does this have to do with my problem?

Sin is just a mistake, not something terrible.

And this parable is directly related to your problem. The fact is that between lovers there is also an invisible thread that connects them to each other. When lovers quarrel, this thread breaks, and when they reconcile, the thread is tied in a knot and becomes a little shorter, and the lovers are closer to each other. This intensifies their mutual attraction.

So what, this will continue indefinitely?

No,” answered the Teacher. - There will come a time when the ends of the thread become very short and the knot will not be tied.

“I understand,” the man said, “if you want to break off a relationship, then it’s better to do it right away, once and for all.”

“You understood everything correctly,” said the Teacher. And he shuddered, feeling how tightly the thread connecting him with God stretched.

17. Classic

One winter evening, the Master was editing his manuscripts, preparing them for a new edition. His works were recognized throughout the world, and he himself was revered as a living classic of esotericism.

Suddenly he was distracted by an obsessive knocking on the door, and when he opened it, standing on the threshold was an aspiring writer, whose works were far from claiming to be classics. The novice author expressed his respect for the Master and admiration for his work, after which he asked:

Tell me a secret and tell me: how should you write to become a classic?

The master smiled from the corners of his eyes and said: “It’s very simple.” The letters must be written from left to right, so that they form a line, and the next line must be placed under the previous one - from top to bottom on the page.

“But everyone writes like this,” said the novice author, “but not many become classics.”

It's not how you write that matters, but how you think and how your brain works.

“My brain is fine,” the young author replied, “Associates and professors spoiled it for me for five years at the university.”

That’s the whole point,” the Master said with a smile, “the more you powder them, the less they shine,” and his gaze slid over the wall, where all his diplomas of academic degrees and titles hung in a place of honor under a thick layer of dust.

18. Weather

Once, on the way to the Master, the new students, who were accompanied by their mentor, were caught in a thunderstorm, although according to forecasts the weather should have been fine. Having come to the Master, they asked:

Why are weather forecasters wrong so often?

To which the Master replied with a smile:

Our climate is good, but the weather is bad.

Like this? - the students did not understand.

After a pause, the Master said:

God is a Spiritual Being, but preachers are not. Esotericism is a secret science, but the teachings about it are obvious. It is not weather forecasters who determine the weather, but the climate. And we need to comprehend not sermons, but God.

Having said this, the Master plunged into contemplation of the raindrops.

Did you understand anything? - the newcomer asked the mentor.

“You don’t need to understand the master,” he replied, “you just need to listen to him.”

19. Was there any betrayal?

Alarmed that her husband began to “walk to the left,” the woman turned to the Master for clarification and advice. All her attempts to clarify the relationship with her husband were absolutely futile. They ended with the fact that he did not want to discuss anything with her on this issue and claimed that he sincerely loved her and would never leave the family.

After listening to her, the Master said:

Some people love to travel, but they do not betray their homeland and always return home. Moreover, they return with joy, enriched with new impressions.

What do you mean by this? - the woman asked.

Be your homeland for your husband, not a foreign land.

After some time, a man came to the Master with a similar problem and asked:

What should I do? I have serious reasons to believe that my wife is cheating on me.

Be glad that it’s for you, and not for the Motherland,” the Master said with a smile, without explaining anything to him.

20. Hook

One esoteric seeker, having once met with the Master, complained: “So many different esoteric courses and schools, such good advertisements are printed, in which they promise everything - the opening of all chakras, and the achievement of enlightenment, and deliverance from all diseases and suffering. , and correction of karma." The esoteric seeker also told the Master that he had fallen for these beautiful advertising texts more than once, but stillwhere he remained disappointed and never got what he wanted from these courses and schools, since they did not have what was written about in the advertisement.

Why is this happening, Master? - he asked.

Because, my friend,” answered the Master, “we eat dishes, not menus.”

The menu is good, but the cook is bad.

21. Everyone knows what they want, but few people know what they really need.

Once, when meeting with the Master, a self-sufficient and pleasant woman in all respects coquettishly said:

Lately I have become disillusioned with men. I get the impression that they are mostly interested in me only as a sexual object.

To which the Master replied:

Try dating impotent people, maybe they will charm you?

What more!!! - the woman involuntarily burst out. - Never!

Then think about what you want and what you really need,” said the Master.

The disciples were delighted with the Teachings of their Master, because it allowed them to get from life what they really needed, and not what they wanted.

22. Eyes are the mirror of the soul

Once the Master, standing near a convex mirror display case, talked with a cripple about the vicissitudes of his fate. A young and charming girl passing by, a graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy, caught snippets of their conversation and, without any preludes, turned to the Master:

Tell me, Master, what is this World?

This World is a reflection of God,” answered the Master.

What is God? - she asked.

God is a reflection of you in this World,

The girl took a quick glance at the huge mirror of the display case and said with satisfaction:

Is he really that beautiful?

The cripple looked at his reflection and said:

Is he really that terrible?
To which the Master replied:

You are both looking into a distorting mirror, but this is not a sin, this is a delusion.

Where are you looking, Master? - they asked.

I look at my reflection in your eyes.

23. Birthday

The Enlightened Master lived in this World for so long that many of his students managed to grow old and have great-grandchildren. And no one knew how old the Master himself was. But the Master himself knew the birth dates of his students, but never wished anyone a happy birthday. And then the students decided to congratulate him themselves.

They came to the Master and asked him:

Tell me, when were you born?

Why do you need to know this? - asked the Master.

We want to congratulate you and make you a holiday on this day.

The master looked at them and said:

What is the point of congratulating a mortal on his Birth, and for me, a Holiday is every day I live.

The spirit is immortal, but in Eternity there is no Time.

24. Choosing your destiny

It had been snowing for days. This is common in winter. The weather was calm, and large fluffy snowflakes slowly circled in a bizarre dance, slowly approaching the ground.

Two snowflakes flying nearby decided to start a conversation. Afraid of losing each other, they held hands, and one of them cheerfully said:
- How good it is to fly, enjoy the flight!
“We don’t fly, we just fall,” the second answered sadly.
- Soon we will meet the ground and turn into a white fluffy blanket.
- No, we are flying towards death, and on the ground they will simply trample us underfoot.
- We will become streams and rush to the sea... We will live forever! - exclaimed the first.
“No, we will melt and disappear forever,” the other objected.

Finally, they got tired of arguing, they unclenched their hands, and each flew towards the fate that she had chosen.

25. Lessons of happiness

Once a sage was walking along the road, admiring the beauty of the world and enjoying life. Suddenly he noticed an unfortunate man hunched over under an unbearable burden.

– Why do you condemn yourself to such suffering? - asked the sage.

“I suffer for the happiness of my children and grandchildren,” the man answered. - My great-grandfather suffered all his life for the happiness of my grandfather, my grandfather suffered for the happiness of my father, my father suffered for my happiness, and I will suffer all my life, only so that my children and grandchildren become happy.

– Was anyone happy in your family? - asked the sage.

– No, but my children and grandchildren will definitely be happy! - answered the unhappy man.

26. Angry words

One day Buddha was passing through a village. One angry young man approached him and began to be rude and insult him. “You have no right to teach others,” he shouted. - You are a fraud! And he’s just as stupid as everyone else!”

Buddha was not upset. Instead, he asked the young man: “Tell me, if you buy someone a gift and that person does not accept it, who will the gift belong to?”

The young man was surprised at such a strange question and replied: “It will belong to me, because I bought it.”

Buddha smiled and said, “That's right. The same is true with your anger. If you are angry with me and I do not become offended, then the anger falls back on you. Therefore, only you yourself become unhappy, not me. All you did was hurt yourself. If you want to stop harming yourself, you must let go of your anger and become loving instead.”

27. Faith in the best

An African king had a close friend with whom he grew up. This friend, assessing everything that happened to him, had the habit of saying: “This is good!”
During the hunt, the friend always loaded the guns for the king. But one day he did something wrong, and the king’s finger was torn off when he was shot.

Seeing this, the friend, as usual, said:

- This is good.
- No, this is not good at all! - the king objected and ordered his friend to be sent to prison.

A year later, it happened that during a hunt, the king and the servants who were with him were captured by cannibals. They brought them to their village, where they planned to roast and eat them. But suddenly one of them noticed that the king was missing a finger. Because of their superstition, they never ate anyone who had a defect in their body. And the king was released.

Returning home, the king immediately freed his friend:
– You turned out to be right. It was good that I was left without a finger.
The king told his friend what had happened and expressed regret that he had kept him in prison for a year.
“No,” said his friend, “that’s good!” If I hadn't been in prison, I would have ended up hunting with you.

28. Ugly stone

In one seaside town, there was a huge ugly stone in front of the store. The store owner had long dreamed of getting rid of it, since the stone was covering the display case. He asked the workers to dig up and take the stone away from the store, but they charged too high a fee for their services, since the task was extremely labor-intensive. The owner felt sorry for the money, and he resigned himself: let him stay.

After some time, a young man approached the stone: he examined it, measured it with various tools, and then decisively went to the store owner and offered his services to transport the stone. The owner was extremely happy and paid for the equipment that the young man rented to take away the stone. After that, the business took off - the store became visible from afar and the number of customers grew every day.

A year later, a ship arrived in the city and brought a beautiful statue.

An auction was held on the shore, and the store owner decided to take part in it too: he thought that such a beautiful statue would decorate the entrance to his store and attract even more customers. After lengthy bidding, he bought it, paying a lot of money, and was very happy with his new acquisition - the purchase seemed so profitable to him. When he was already paying for the statue, a man approached him and asked:
- Do you remember me?
“No, I don’t remember,” answered the owner.
- I bought a stone from you last year. Here he is,” and pointed to the statue.

God fills us from the inside and gives us absolutely everything - you just need to see it. This story clearly shows how easily the veils of ignorance are removed.

29. The Perfect Suit

A certain man went to a tailor to order a suit. When the order was ready, he went to the mirror to check how the new outfit fit. At the very first second he noticed that the right sleeve of the jacket was too short and his wrist was visible.

- The sleeve is too short. Could you lengthen it?
“The sleeve is not short,” answered the tailor. - Your arm is too long. Pull it in a little and you will see for yourself that the sleeve is perfect.

The man pulled his hand back a little, and the sleeve hid his wrist. But this movement left the top of the jacket in disarray.

“Now the collar is out of place,” he protested.
“The collar is fine,” the tailor insisted. – It’s your neck that’s too low. Pull it out a little and the jacket will fit as it should.

The customer craned his neck as far as he could and made sure that the collar lay as it should. However, a third problem appeared: the tails of the jacket were lifted.

“Now my backside is showing!” – the man complained.
“It’s easy to fix,” answered the tailor. “Just tighten your muscles and the jacket will hide it.”

Finally, the man followed all the instructions, after which his body found itself in a very uncomfortable position. But the tailor assured him that the problem was with the customer himself, and not with the suit.

Having paid for the work, the man went out into the street in the most awkward position, trying to keep all the parts of the suit in place.

On his way, he met two women walking on the opposite side of the street. Having passed by, one turned to the other and remarked:

- Poor man, how his illness mutilated him!
“Indeed,” agreed another. – But his suit is amazing!

30. Meeting in the jungle

A hunter got lost in the jungle and for three days could not find anyone to ask for directions. Panic took over him more and more. He climbed a tree because he was afraid that wild animals would attack him. On the fourth day, early in the morning he saw a man sitting under a tree. The hunter jumped down, hugged the man and exclaimed: “What joy!” The man hugged him too, and both were incredibly happy. When the joy of the meeting subsided, they asked each other why they were so happy. The hunter said, “I was lost and was hoping to meet someone.” The man replied: “I was also lost and was also hoping to meet someone. But if we were both lost... Then our joy was in vain. Now we're both lost."

31. Be yourself

One day the king entered his garden and discovered that all the trees, bushes and flowers in it were withering before his eyes. The oak said that it was dying because it was not as tall as the pine. Pine - because it cannot produce grapes, and grapes - because it cannot bloom as beautifully as a rose.

Only one flower, the pansy, was fresh and blooming as always. The king was curious why it was blooming as if nothing had happened. The flower replied: “When you planted me, you wanted to have pansies in your garden.

I took it for granted. If you wanted to see only oak, grapes or roses in the garden, you would plant them. And I, if I cannot be anything other than what I am, I will try to be this as best as possible.”

32. The right thing

Once upon a time, the king came to the Sufi mystic Farid and brought him as a gift scissors of rare beauty: gold, trimmed with emeralds.

Looking at them, Farid returned them to the king with the words: “Sir, thank you, this is a beautiful thing, but for me it is absolutely unnecessary. It would be better if you gave me a needle.” “I don’t understand you,” the king was surprised, “if you need a needle, you also need scissors.”

Farid replied: “I teach love. All my teaching is based on it. I need a needle to connect. Scissors are useless because they cut and separate. Next time you come, bring a regular needle. It would be enough".

33. Mindfulness

Tenno came to visit Nan-in, his mentor, with whom he studied for more than 10 years. Now Tenno was already a teacher himself. It was raining outside, so he put on his wooden shoes and took an umbrella. After greeting him, Nan-in asked:
“I suppose you left your shoes in the hallway.” Tell me, did you place the umbrella to the right of your shoes or to the left?
The Tenno hesitated. He realized that he did not embody Zen in every moment. Therefore, he returned to Nan-in and studied with him for another six years.

34 . Three best things

Indian parable

The king used to ask three questions to everyone who came to him. The first question is: who is the best of people? Second: what is the best time? Third: what is the best action? The king really wanted to know the answers to these questions.

It happened to him once to go into the forest and wander for a long time through the hills and glades. He came across an ashram (holy monastery) and decided to rest there for a while. When he entered there, the sadhu (hermit) was washing fruits, but when he saw the traveler, tired from the road, he interrupted his work, hurried to the king and gave him some fruits and cool water. But then a wounded, bleeding man was brought to the ashram, and the sadhu immediately rushed to him, washed his wounds and gave him a healing herbal infusion. At the same time, he spoke kind words that calmed the wounded man.

Before leaving, the king expressed his gratitude to the sadhu, who blessed him. But the king was still troubled by three questions, and he wanted to know if the sadhu could enlighten him. The sadhu said that the answers to all three questions were contained in the actions that the king had just witnessed. When the king appeared at the ashram, the sadhu was washing the fruits, which was his duty. Seeing the king, he left his work, went up to the king and gave him water and fruit, which was required by good tradition, since the king was his guest. At this time, a wounded man appeared in the ashram, and the sadhu, interrupting his service to the king, began to help this man.

The one who asks you for help is the best person for you at this moment. If your help and service brings relief to a person, that is your best work. The time when you do something useful is the most sacred of all.

All Proverbs: 1